Anyone have experience with UCSMP Geometry in ps (Chicago math)? (cross post)

[Perry]

My dd (12) returned to ps for 7th grade after 5 years of hs. She's a good student and excels at math. We did Foerster's Algebra 1 last year and she did fine, so we put her in Geometry for 7th grade.

She is getting an A/A- on everything, and her teacher says she's one of the best students in her class. But she's miserable. She hates it and says she's struggling and doesn't really understand what's going on. They apparently don't teach; the kids read a new section each day and then do the first set of questions on their own. The next day, the teacher "goes over" any questions the kids have, then they do the second set of questions from that section, plus the first set of questions from the next section. So there is never a formal presentation of the material. It sounds very haphazard and disjointed, and I would have hated that type of math class.

She wants to dual enroll and take math at home again. I'm concerned that the problem is her age, that she just isn't ready for geometry, and a new curriculum won't really help the situation.

I'm trying to figure out if other kids have the same issues with this curriculum as I'm going to discuss the situation with the teacher at some point.
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[creekland]

We use this program in our public school - complete with learning in groups - and I hate it as well. It works fine for a small subset of kids. Most of the others copy those that 'get it.' Scores on individual tests are dismal at best - even with easy questions.

I homeschool my own kids partially due to their switching to this math program. I substitute teach math/science courses in our public high school (11 years now), so see most of the classes and students.

I continue to be told that 'math scores are better overall,' but I personally do not see it myself. Our school fails NCLB and TOP kids have major issues when they go to college (many times needing remedial classes). Kids also have problems using math skills supposedly learned in their chemistry and physics classes.

As I stated above, a few kids do get it and do well. The majority do not IMO. When I go into a math class I often find myself having to 'break' the pattern and teaching the concept the 'old fashioned way,' then letting them work on their problems. Many of the students thank me and ask why I can't be their 'real' teacher... To be fair, there is also a lot of laziness on the part of most students... if they really delved into the program and tried to understand it, they might have better luck, but they don't.

[Perry]

When I go into a math class I often find myself having to 'break' the pattern and teaching the concept the 'old fashioned way,' then letting them work on their problems. Many of the students thank me and ask why I can't be their 'real' teacher... To be fair, there is also a lot of laziness on the part of most students... if they really delved into the program and tried to understand it, they might have better luck, but they don't.
My dd frequently helps her classmates with algebra and T-math, and she can't believe the convoluted ways they've learned to do things. When she explains something and shows them the "right" way to do it, the response is almost always "well that makes sense. Why didn't they just tell us that?!"

[creekland]

My dd frequently helps her classmates with algebra and T-math, and she can't believe the convoluted ways they've learned to do things. When she explains something and shows them the "right" way to do it, the response is almost always "well that makes sense. Why didn't they just tell us that?!"

Yes, I get that a lot too. I'm really not a fan of this program and hate having to teach it... hence I modify it when I can.